The Max Scherzer free agency chase may be coming to an end, as the Washington Nationals are one of a number of teams working to complete a deal with the free agent pitcher, as Jon Heyman at CBS Sports reports that Scherzer is close to signing and the Nats, St. Louis Cardinals, NY Yankees, Boston Red Sox, Detroit Tigers and LA Dodgers all could be potential landing spots.
Scherzer is considered to be the top pitcher on the market and he has been holding out for a long term deal that man expect to be for at least $180 million. Heyman reports that the Nationals are interested in signing Scherzer and that he is negotiating a deal that could be for at least seven years. The Cardinals came up last week as a potential team that was interested in Scherzer, while the Detroit Tigers and Yankees as well as the Red Sox have remained options that baseball execs think could be be in the mix.
The Nationals were not one of the team mentioned early in the offseason as an option for Scherzer, but as things get closer to spring training, they have emerged as an option. The Nationals reportedly were looking to trade Jordan Zimmermann this offseason because he is headed for free agency and the same goes for Doug Fister. The CBS article reports that extensions for both pitchers have not been successful and that could lead to the team paying big for Scherzer, who would join Stephen Strasburg and Gio Gonzalez in one of the best rotations in baseball.
Heyman reports that a deal is getting done with whatever team signs Scherzer soon and it comes after Scherzer turned down an extension with the Tigers. That six year extension was worth over $140 million and basically meant Scherzer bet on himself heading into this season. Scherzer won the Cy Young in 2013 and went 18-5 last season with a 3.15 ERA. Scherzer is just 30 years old and had over 200 innings with 252 strikeouts last season and he could be the next big name pitcher to sign after Jon LEster signed for over $100 million with the Cubs.
Heyman writes that Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo has connections to Scherzer, as he was with the Diamondbacks when the team drafted him. Heyman writes that a deal is expected "to happen in the coming days" with the Nationals or one of the other teams in the mix to sign Scherzer. The Tigers traded for David Price last season and many saw that as insurance in case the team was unable to sign back Scherzer.
Buster Olney at ESPN wrote earlier in the season that no one should count out the Yankees when it comes to signing Scherzer, but it doesn't look like they are the favorites. Hal Steinbrenner made some quotes last week that could open the door for the Yankee sand this comes as the Cardinals and Red Sox have also been mentioned as potential options. Scherzer comes in a season after winning the Cy Young and that was his most impressive season in 2013 when he went 21-3 with a 2.90 ERA for the Tigers.